2nd
Largest Continent: Africa is the second largest continent in
the world. (Asia is the largest.) Africa is three times the size of the
continental United States. Measuring north to south, Africa is 5,200 miles
long! At its widest point, Africa is nearly as wide as it is
long.
Rivers:
Africa has five huge river systems. The big three, in order of
size, are the Nile, the Congo, and the Niger.
Oceans:
In spite of its size, Africa has few natural harbors. If you
wanted to visit Africa by boat, you would have to hunt for a safe place to
land. Without a safe harbor, powerful ocean current would slam your boat
into the rocks along the coastline. The Atlantic Ocean borders Africa to
the west, the Indian Ocean borders Africa to the east, and the
Mediterranean borders Africa to the north.
The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet to border Africa to the south.
Africa is nearly surrounded by water.
Landforms:
Africa has rainforests, grasslands, and is home to the largest
desert in the world, the Sahara. Africa does have a few mountain ranges,
like the Atlas Mountains in the north. These are good size mountains, but
they would appear to be hills if you put them next to the Alps or the
Himalayas. Africa does not have a huge mountain range.
Prime
Meridian: The prime meridian, which is the imaginary line that
separates the world into Eastern and Western Hemispheres runs vertically
through Africa. Another imaginary line runs horizontally though Africa –
the Equator.
Modern
African Countries
African
Map Interactive
Africa
Map Match (flash)
Africa
Geography Games
African
River
Outpost:
Congo
Trek
Congo
River (also known as the Zaire)
The
Nile River
African
Savannah
Savannah
(student report)
The
Sahara Desert
Interactive
Map
Map:
Sahara, Grassland, Rainforest
Great
Maps of Africa (the map at the top of this section is linked to this
wonderful school site)
Africa
Map (African Action)
Maps
(Univ Texas, Perry collection)
The Prime Meridian
Regions
in Africa
African
Geography Quiz - Click on the map to answer
Test
your geography knowledge (difficult)
Free
Africa Presentations in PowerPoint format
